Chapter 405: Conferring a posthumous title In

the Taiji Hall of the Taiji Palace in Chang'an, the Tang Emperor Li Chengqian was holding a court meeting with his ministers. "Report! Urgent message from Liaodong within 800 miles!" Outside the Taiji Hall, a soldier of the imperial guards, holding something high in his hand, ran towards the Taiji Hall while shouting, and no one blocked his way. The soldier of the imperial guards ran up the stairs, stopped outside the Taiji Hall, handed the thing in his hand to the eunuch and said, "Report to Your Majesty immediately! Urgent message from Liaodong within 800 miles!" "Hey!" the eunuch responded, turned around and ran towards the main hall. If the military report could be delivered in an 800-mile express, it must be that something big happened in Liaodong, and he dared not delay for even a moment. "Your Majesty! Urgent report from Liaodong 800 miles away!" The eunuch ran into the hall, knelt down under the steps and shouted loudly. Everyone was shocked when they heard this! "Show it quickly!" Li Chengqian shouted hurriedly, worried about what happened in Liaodong? Could it be that they lost the war? After Quan Gai and Su Wen passed away, who else in Goguryeo could compete with Su Dingfang and others? Wang Quan hurriedly walked down the steps, took over the report from Liaodong, turned around and walked back to Li Chengqian, and handed the urgent report to Li Chengqian. Li Chengqian hurriedly opened the urgent report to check what happened in Liaodong. Everyone looked up, wanting to know what happened? Some even whispered and speculated whether the Tang army was defeated by the Goguryeo army, and it was a terrible defeat. "Your Majesty! What happened in Liaodong?" Seeing that Li Chengqian was silent for a long time after reading it. At this time, Changsun Wuji's thoughts were the same as others, that is, Su Dingfang lost the battle, and it was possible that it was a terrible defeat, and it was even possible that the whole army was almost wiped out. "Xing Guogong reported that the general commander of the Woju Road, Pang Xiaotai, and his sons, 14 people, died in the Goguryeo Sheshui, and died heroically for their country." Li Chengqian choked up. After hearing this, everyone was moved by the loyalty of Pang Xiaotai, and a surge of grief surged in their hearts. The hall suddenly became quiet, and everyone spontaneously mourned for the fourteen people, Pang Xiaotai and his sons, who died on the battlefield. "Pang Xiaotai's family is loyal and brave, and it is a blessing for our Tang Dynasty. The pension for the Pang family will be doubled, and they will be buried with the ceremony of a duke, buried with him in Qianling Mausoleum, and enjoy the Imperial Ancestral Temple." Li Chengqian said. A meritorious official like Pang Xiaotai should be given the highest honor. Being buried with him in the imperial mausoleum and enjoying the Imperial Ancestral Temple is the highest honor a minister can enjoy after his death. "Also, Ren Yaxiang, the general commander of the Peijiang Road, died in the army. There was a heavy snow in Liaodong. He has led the army to withdraw to the Tang Dynasty." "Pang Xiaotai died in battle and Ren Yaxiang died in the army. These two are the pillars of our Tang Dynasty. Let's discuss what posthumous titles should be given to them." Li Chengqian continued. " Your Majesty! When Ren Gong was a general, he never recommended any relatives or former officials to join the army. All positions were assigned by the officials." "Ren Gong often said to others: No matter how big or small the official is, they are all public tools of the court. How can they be privately granted?" "Ren Gong's behavior is really admirable. Ask the civil and military officials in the court, who can do what Ren Gong said? I think he should be given a posthumous title as a respect." Li Ke stepped out and saluted. "What the king of Wu said makes sense. I wonder if you have any objections?" Li Chengqian said. "I have no objection. King Wu Ke is right. Lord Ren is indeed worthy of this posthumous title. I second your proposal!" Changsun Wuji saluted. This was the first time that Changsun Wuji and Li Ke had stood on the same front since they served in the same palace. This was because everyone was convinced of Ren Yaxiang's character. "I second your proposal!" "I second your proposal..." All the civil and military officials in the court saluted and agreed. "Since no one objects, then the posthumous title of Anle County Lord Ren Yaxiang should be given as a respectful title, and he should be posthumously awarded the title of Grand Commander of Jingzhou." Li Chengqian said. "Your Majesty is wise!" The ministers shouted. "Then what posthumous title should be given to Pang Xiaotai? What posthumous title is suitable for a loyal and righteous minister like Pang Xiaotai?" Li Chengqian said. If there were no loyal ministers like Pang Xiaotai, who expanded the territory for the Tang Dynasty and resisted foreign enemies, how could there be any prosperous Tang Dynasty? It was because of so many soldiers who fought bloody battles outside that the Central Plains would not be destroyed by war, and the Tang Dynasty could live and work in peace. The people of the Tang Dynasty would have a stable and prosperous environment, and the Tang Dynasty could enter a prosperous era. If there were no bloody battles of these soldiers, the Central Plains would be riddled with wounds under the destruction of war, and the people of the Tang Dynasty would suffer from the pain of war. The people of the Tang Dynasty after the An-Shi Rebellion are the best proof. All the ministers fell silent, racking their brains to think about what posthumous title should be given to Pang Xiaotai. After all, the Pang family was a loyal and brave family, and all fourteen people, father and son, died on the battlefield. This posthumous title must be consistent with Pang Xiaotai's loyalty and his spirit of sacrificing his body for the country and bravely dying for his country. After a long time, Changsun Wuji stood up and said, "Your Majesty! I think it is necessary to reward Pang Xiaotai's loyalty and bravery." "I beg Your Majesty to give Pang Xiaotai the posthumous title of Zhonghui and the title of Wuyi Dafu. Only this posthumous title is enough to commend Pang Xiaotai's loyalty." Li Chengqian understood what "Zhong" meant, and "Hui" meant smart and talented. It was appropriate to use these two words as a posthumous title for Pang Xiaotai. "Do you have any objections to this?" Li Chengqian asked, to see if there was a more suitable posthumous title than this one, maybe someone had a different opinion. He didn't know much about bestowing posthumous titles, so he still had to ask for everyone's valuable opinions. "Your Highness seconded the proposal!" The ministers saluted again and echoed. No one had any objection to the posthumous title of Zhonghui. Everyone felt that these two words were enough to highlight Pang Xiaotai's life achievements. "Since you have no objection, I will issue an edict to posthumously confer the title of Wuyi Doctor to Pang Xiaotai and the posthumous title of Zhonghui." Li Chengqian saw that no one objected and knew that this posthumous title was the most suitable, so he issued an edict to do as Zhangsun Wuji said. "Your Majesty! General Pang Xiaotai died on the battlefield, and we are naturally very sad. However, why did Lord Pang fight alone without any reinforcements? Is there some unspeakable secret? I earnestly ask Your Majesty to investigate this matter thoroughly and give justice to the meritorious official." The cruel official Lai Junchen stepped out and saluted. "Are you saying that someone deliberately delayed the march, so that Lord Pang and his sons fought alone, which led to Lord Pang's death on the battlefield?" Li Chengqian said. Deliberately delaying rescue is equivalent to framing loyal officials. Once this crime is confirmed, you don't need to think about what the consequences will be. "This is my guess, and I dare not make any guesses. Only after a thorough investigation can we know whether it is as I expected."

"I am willing to share your Majesty's worries! Thoroughly investigate this matter and give justice to the loyal ministers and righteous men." Lai Junchen said.

"Duke Xing has clearly stated this in his report. It was because the roads in Goguryeo were difficult to travel and the weather was bad that it was not convenient to transport food and grass, which led to the delay in the reinforcements."

"It is not a deliberate frame-up as you guessed. Don't make random guesses and make people hate you without evidence." Li Chengqian said.

"I dare not! I am just thinking of sharing your Majesty's worries!" Lai Junchen said.